Athens: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said forest fires that ripped the edge of Athens and other Greek parts this month underlined the need for radical changes to overcome global warming.
Everything needs to change to minimize the impact of the climate crisis, he told parliament on Wednesday during the debate about forest fires and criticism of the government’s response to them.
Dealing with the crisis “forces us to change everything; the way we produce agricultural products, how we move, how we produce energy and the way we build our homes,” he said.
Part of the Suksesi Blazes that hit southern Europe during the summer Heatwa, the Greek fire burned more than a quarter of a million hectares of pine forest, with the island of Evia and the Peloponnese area, including near the ancient Olympic archaeological sites, including hits.
Mitsotakis told MPs, the previous public apology for the disaster was also a call to act to be better in handling the phenomenon.
“We were called to issue 1,279 forest fires …
the majority was handled at first but some left.
Preparedness was inadequate,” he said.
Defending the fire department and civil service response, he stressed that his government’s top priority was saving lives.
During August, Greece recorded the hottest temperature since 1987.
Mitsotakis, who has approved a budget of 500 million euros ($ 587 million) for Evia and Attica region around Athens, said the protracted heatwave had changed the forest into a barrel.
“It is wrong to say that forest fires are only put out of the air.
We cannot have a helicopter above every home,” he said, but promised to increase the capacity of air firefighters and make power that can operate efficiently in the forest.